Don't Believe in Fear
by Tiarina Tempest
Summary: *Redone+ finished* Night World assassin Medea has some problems. Damn that pesky soulmate thing...
1. Part 1

Title: Don't Believe in Fear  
Author: Tiarina Tempest  
Email: tiarinatempest@hotmail.com   
Spoilers: basic Night World concepts.  
Disclaimers: ideas of the Night World belong to LJS. Everything unrecognised is mine.  
Beta readers: Thanks to Kat, Nirvana and Ashley B for their help in getting this fic started.   
Rating: 15ish.   
Warnings: violence and strong language  
Summary: Night World assassin Medea Blackthorn has some problems with her latest assignment. Damn that pesky soulmate thing...  
Notes: feedback loved.  
  
Part 1  
  
How had he gotten here? Dylan sighed, standing alone on the roof of the gym. What possible good was going to come of this, anyway? She hadn't shown up yet, he would have thought the better of her.   
  
The night was clear and eerily calm. Dylan paced about, bored now, and wanting to go home. But the sooner she got here, the sooner they could get this over and done with.   
  
It wasn't like any of this had been his fault. He'd just been a normal person - or as normal as a Night Person could get - up until *she* had shown up and created her problems.   
  
"Come on, Medea," he muttered. "I've got better things to be doing."  
  
"Somehow, I seriously doubt it."  
  
The voice caught him off balance. He didn't like her sudden closeness, how she'd just appeared silently out of the darkness and shadows.  
  
Medea just gave him a stunning smile. She may be stunning, but she was scum underneath it all. "Hey, don't hate me," she said casually. "I'm just doing my job."  
  
Dylan stared at her, and shook her head. God, she was impossible. She was the last person he would want anything to do with. "You killed her." His tone was blunt, full of hatred.  
  
Medea just smiled that irritating smile of hers, inspecting long sharp blood-red nails. "I did, didn't I?"  
  
"Why didn't you just come straight after me? That was what you were supposed to be doing."  
  
Medea laughed. The sound was harsh and chilling, shattering the peaceful night calm. Dylan held his ground, refusing to back up or shudder. She didn't intimidate him.   
  
"Well, I would have just gone straight for you, only there was someone in my way, so I dealt with the problem." She said it so casually, as if it was just part of her every day life, going around killing people.   
  
  
  
Unfortunately for him, in Medea's case, that was just what she did. Went around killing people and enjoying it. So he hadn't taken her down, because he'd mistaken her for someone else, he hadn't believed it was really her.  
  
Well, bravo. All that had done was resulted in the death of someone close to him. And lead him here. Alone, a deserted roof top, face to face with one of the supposed most deadly women he'd ever met.   
  
Medea brushed some imaginary dirt off her hands. "I'm bored now," she said, eyeing him with distaste. "Let's do this and get it over with."  
  
"Fine with me."  
  
He stood where he was, watching her, waiting for her to make the first move. She was looking at him, watching like a hawk, as he mirrored her movements.   
  
Dylan was getting annoyed. ~Oh the hell with this,~ he thought angrily, and threw himself at her.  
  
* * *  
  
Medea sighed heavily. Dylan was so...predictable. She shook her head, sidestepping as he rushed her. She smirked at him with contempt. "Come on Dylan," she sneered at him. "You're supposed to be good."  
  
Dylan stopped, glaring at her. "This is all your fault, you know."  
  
Medea laughed, her cold laughter echoing in the night air. "My fault? Hey, I'm just doing my job, it's not my fault if you can't deal with it. You shouldn't be such a little asshole, should you?"  
  
Dylan launched himself at her a second time. Instead of sidestepping, Medea took him head on. He threw a series of angry punches at her. Medea countered his every move, fast and furious as he was.   
  
The effect became more a fight than a dance. Somewhere overhead a loud clap of thunder boomed. Rain began to pour. Lighting began to flash. Medea shook her head, disgusted.  
  
How pathetically cliché.   
  
Dylan stuck his foot out at an unexpected moment tripping her. Medea cursed. She hated being distracted. While she fumbled to get up, something flashed in the moonlight.  
  
She rolled out the way of the wooden stake quickly. She pulled up short, dangerously close to the edge of the building. She found herself almost hanging off the edge, two stories down.   
  
It might not kill her, but it would break her bones, and even if she would heal up in a remarkably short space of time, falling off a building was not her idea of a good time.   
  
Dylan was smirking. "Looks like you're loosing."  
  
"I don't lose," Medea growled out. She smirked at him, and kicked him hard in the groin, knowing her heeled boot would do some damage.  
  
Dylan cried out and fell to the floor, clutching himself, shouting curses at her. It gave Medea the time she needed to get to her feet.  
  
"Come on," she taunted him. "Get up and let's finish this."  
  
Dylan was on his feet in an instant. With a snarl of rage and anger he threw himself at her. Medea stepped backwards to get out his way. Her foot missed the edge of the building.  
  
She screamed before toppling backwards. Before she knew what was happening Dylan had grabbed her hand. Stopping her.  
  
He was saving her, why?  
  
Medea wasn't focusing her attention on that. The simple touch had blown her mind away. In that instant, everything changed forever.  
  
* * * 


	2. Part 2

Part 2  
  
~Several Weeks Earlier...~  
  
  
The cold wind and rain had no effect on Medea. All that mattered to her was finding her target and making him dead. The fool was arrogant enough to be careless. And drunk as well.  
  
Stroke of luck for her. She smiled unpleasantly, waiting for him to turn and notice her. He stopped and belched into the night. Medea's delicate nose wrinkled slightly in disgust.   
  
He finally turned and saw her. "Hey there," he slurred. "Don't recall seeing you before."  
  
Medea forced her smile into a more pleasant one. "That's because I don't hang around here." She sauntered up to him, hips swaying, hiding her stake behind her back.  
  
He clearly saw she was hiding something. "What'd you got there?"  
  
Medea's dark head tilted. "You really want to see?" What an idiot. Didn't men ever learn that curiosity killed the cat? Or vampire, in this case.   
  
  
He shrugged, leering at her. "I guess."  
  
Medea laughed, the sound cold enough to send chills running down anyone's spine. "Okay. You asked for it." With those words she brought the stake out and plunged it into his heart.  
  
She stepped back, an amused smile on her face as she watched *his* face contorting with shock. He tried to yank the stake out, but was too late. The surprised light in his eyes died. His skin started turning leathery, stretching over his bones, withering away. Within minutes he was a mummified corpse.  
  
Task complete.  
  
Leaving the corpse where it was Medea headed home, in a very good mood. She would have liked an assignment that was more of a challenge. It was just that Neo was ridiculously protective of her.  
  
Medea pouted as she walked down the silent late-night streets of their small home town. He was the head of Night World in their state, they'd been together for about a year.   
  
Yet sometimes he drove her crazy. But how did you dump a Night World ring leader without winding up very dead? He did have his ways of making up for it, she thought with a curl of her lip.  
  
She jogged lightly up the steps to the huge mansion on the edge of town. The doorman let her in, nodding respectfully.  
  
There wasn't a Night Person in town who didn't know who Medea Blackthorn was. They were all afraid of her, and knew not to cross her. You don't piss off someone who killed people for a living. Medea was the town's top assassin. She never failed. Never.  
  
She found Neo in his office, not looking happy at the files of paperwork on his desk. Paperwork? She decided not to investigate. He looked up as she came in. "Is he dead now?"  
  
Medea smiled and took a seat on a leather couch without being invited. "Very."  
  
"Good. Here's your next task."  
  
Medea took the manila folder he handed her and flipped through it, studying the information. Which wasn't a whole lot. She vaguely recognised the boy in the picture as Dylan Stillman, a Daybreak vampire hunter.   
  
She wasn't too impressed with the idea that the boy was still a senior in high school. She looked up at Neo suspiciously. He was smiling. She scowled. "Dream on," she snapped. "There is no way I'm infiltrating a vermin high school."  
  
Neo just grinned at her. "I don't care what you do, or how you do it. Just make him dead fast. That idiot is starting to annoy some important people."  
  
Medea sighed heavily and left the office, her mind already starting to strategise how she was going to pull this off. He was just one little vampire hunter. He shouldn't be a problem...  
  
* * *   
  
Dylan glanced over his shoulder, knowing he was being followed. It was an instinct feeling, really. The girl was pretty enough, raven hair, nice blue eyes.   
  
She slipped through the night like a shadow. Too bad if she came any closer he was going to have to kill her. Vampire scum deserved to die.   
  
Even pretty ones. But this was a vampire he hadn't seen in town before. As long as she kept her distance, everything was going to be fine. She didn't have to die unless it was necessary.  
  
If Dylan had been a smart Daybreaker, he would have staked Medea Blackthorn that first night he'd met her. He could avoided so much pain...  
  
But he was a somewhat decent Daybreaker. He believed that most people had the chance to change. He didn't like to kill unless he had to.  
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
The girl had walked up beside him. Dylan glanced at her, looking at her from feet upwards, taking in the snake-skin boots, long perfect legs, short black skirt, black top with a design in silver dots. The stunning face, her jewel-like eyes, that mane of gorgeous raven hair. The model-like smile she gave him.   
  
"You keep glancing over your shoulder."  
  
Dylan cursed himself. He should have stopped at let the girl pass. "No, no problem. I could hear something...I guess it was your heels."  
  
The girl nodded. "Sometimes being out at night can make you rather jumpy. I'm new in town, I'm Melanie."  
  
Dylan looked at her. Something about her smile seemed almost...false. It was an expression he knew well. One that said "I'm going to kill you".  
  
~Not if I have anything to say about it~ he thought. "Dylan Redfern. You new in town?"  
  
"Melanie" nodded. "Yes."  
  
"Maybe I'll see you at school or something." He gave her a fake smile of his own, and walked off. Within an instant he was well away from her. Thank god for vampire speed.   
  
He'd gotten away from her. This time.  
  
* * *  
  
Medea cursed. Shit. Shit. Shit. She'd had the stupid Daybreaker within her grasp, and somehow he'd managed to get away from her. Shouldn't have happened.   
  
Damnit. She looked around. He was long gone by now. But still, it didn't mean she was going to give up. Not that easily.   
  
An idea was starting to form in her mind. Not a particularly pleasant one, but it was the only plan she had at the moment.   
  
* * *  
  
Medea scowled furiously, not looking forward to the thought of being forced into a human environment. But she couldn't see any other way to get her target. Dylan was already suspicious of her.   
  
She shook her dark head, cursing Neo for making her do this. Why she put up with him sometimes was beyond her. But, she supposed he'd do for now. Keep the seat warm.  
  
She forced a smile on her face as she got out of her car. Already she could see the heads turning as she sauntered up to the school office.   
  
She was *not* going to enjoy this.  
  
* * *  
  
When Aurielle Harman arrived that morning the first thing she noticed was a stirring amongst the student body, particularly the boys. Nothing ever happened in their small sleepy town so a new student was pretty big news.   
  
Scanning the halls she couldn't see anyone who particularly stood out. Until she went to her homeroom. Sitting with her friends was a girl she'd never seen before.  
  
A beautiful girl with a mane of raven hair, sapphire eyes. Everything about her showed beauty and perfection. At once Aurielle's skin started prickling. Something about this girl was *disturbing* in a way she couldn't quite put her fingers on.   
  
"This is Maria," her best friend fellow witch Katia Arlin said as Aurielle sat down.   
  
"Maria" smiled unpleasantly. Something about her seemed...false. Aurielle just managed a brief smile. She couldn't wait to get out of this girl's presence.   
  
When the brief period was over she almost ran out the door. She could hear Katia and the others talking to Maria, explaining Aurielle was just acting weird.  
  
"You look you've just seen a ghost."  
  
The arms of her boyfriend Dylan Redfern, wrapping around her shoulders made her feel slightly better. Aurielle smiled a little. "I don't know." She frowned, wondering if she could talk to Dylan, or would he think she was just insane?  
  
  
"What is it?" Dylan asked, head tilted, ever-changing eyes a concerned and gentle green.   
  
Aurielle shrugged uncomfortably. "Have you seen the new girl, Maria, yet?"  
  
Dylan shook his head, looking slightly suspicious. "New girl?"  
  
Aurielle looked at him, trying to interpret why he should look like this. She shrugged. "Well, there's just *something* about her...that...I don't know...completely freaked me out. Am I nuts?"  
  
Dylan chuckled. "Maybe you are. Want me to kill her?"  
  
That made Aurielle smile. "Yeah. Would you?"  
  
She was feeling a little better as she went to her first class. Surely she was just overreacting. She was just being paranoid. Maria, or whoever she was, was probably a perfectly nice person.   
  
So why was she still getting shivers running down her spine?  
  
* * *  
  
Medea knew she was being watched. So far her disguise had worked. The damned Daybreakers had been fooled, except one.   
  
That stupid little Harman witch looked like she might be something of a problem. The way she had almost run on sight had been a little disturbing.  
  
Medea hadn't thought anyone would see through her that fast. Or maybe she could just be imagining all this and being paranoid because she wasn't getting anywhere with her assignment.   
  
Or maybe it was the idea that she *knew* she was being watched. She scanned the crowded cafeteria. Two people were walking towards her. The guy was tall and muscular, with long stringy blond hair. Murky green eyes twinkled as he smiled at Medea, who was unimpressed.   
  
The girl was only an inch shorter than he was, dressed in a sleek black body suit, long red hair cascading down her back.   
  
They sat down without waiting to be invited. Medea eyed them, curious. "Yes?"  
  
"The infamous Medea Blackthorn presents herself, run little vermin, run," the guy said with a smirk.  
  
Medea didn't know whether to be amused or angry. She felt a vague surprise that these people had actually recognised her. "And who might you two be, then?"  
  
The girl's dark eyes rolled. "Ignore him. Caphius Mandrill is a jerk."   
  
Caphius Mandrill glared at the girl. "And Yvette Darkthorne is a bitch."  
  
  
Medea was feeling more inclined to be amused. Night People were just so polite to each other. "Charmed, I'm sure," she said dryly.   
  
"So what's someone of your stature doing here?" Caphius asked. "Maria?"  
  
Medea snorted. It was the only fake name she could think of when she was enrolling. In case there were other Daybreakers who might recognise her she'd changed her name.  
  
She'd forgotten about other Night People being there. But still, maybe if they knew who she was, and might even respect her status, they might be somewhat useful.   
  
"I'm here only on an assignment," she answered.  
  
"That Redfern bastard?" Yvette asked with narrowed eyes. She glanced at a table the other side of the cafeteria where the Harman witch sat with Dylan and the others she'd seen in her first class.  
  
Medea nodded. "Uh-huh." She scowled. If Dylan was constantly going to be surrounded, and he was likely to recognise her as well, getting him alone was going to be hard.  
  
Killing him was going to be harder.   
  
"How long has he been with that Aurielle witch?" she asked finally.   
  
Yvette shrugged. "Only a couple of months. Yet his irritatingly attached to her."  
  
Medea cursed mentally. The girlfriend was going to be more of a problem than she'd thought. She really didn't have time to deal with that.  
  
"Here's the deal," she said finally. "You guys get rid of the witch, I'll give you both a cut of my pay."  
  
They exchanged glances. Medea could practically see their eyes light up. They'd obviously heard something of her pay-role.   
  
The less things she had to deal with, the better. She had enough on her mind.  
  
* * * 


	3. Part 3

Part 3  
  
Niamh Hawke, Aurielle's best friend hadn't understood why Aurielle had been so freaked out about the new girl's arrival. She had thought her friend was just being paranoid.   
  
Apparently not. So. Thee was an infamous Night World assassin bent on killing Dylan, and getting Aurielle out the way. The minute she had seen Yvette and Caphius approaching "Maria" she had known something was up.  
  
Eavesdropping was dangerous and impolite, but also very useful sometimes, like now. She knew something was going on, and about their plans. But she didn't know exactly *what* they were going to do.   
  
She wondered if she should tell Aurielle and Dylan what the bad guys were planning. The plot was to kill them both, they should know. Would they believe her? Or would they assume she was just trying to interfere and was getting the wrong idea?  
  
If they knew about the Night People's plot, and the Night People found out, then Niamh didn't want anyone hunting *her* and killing her if they found out she was the one who spoiled their fun.   
  
She wondered if she should mention this to the other Daybreakers and see what *they* thought. Then again, she put them in the crossfire, the risk of the Night Worlders attacking them all and starting some sort of internal battle.  
  
She drummed her fingers on the table top, wondering what to do. She scowled at the Night People. If anyone mentioned anything to anyone, there'd be risks of fights. That was the whole thing with the Night World vs. Circle Daybreak.   
  
But she couldn't let them hurt Aurielle. She knew something was going to happen, and if something *did* and she didn't get word out, then she knew she'd never live with the guilt of knowing she was responsible for her best friend's death.   
  
She looked around to see the Night People had gone. Damn. Aurielle had gone too. Dylan wasn't any where in sight either.   
  
She had to tell them. She had to *find* them first. She jumped up, silently hoping she wasn't already too late.  
  
* * *  
  
Caphius wondered why he was even bothering with this. He had been following Aurielle Harman around all afternoon, and so far hadn't gotten anywhere with her.  
  
He had been polite and flirty, and the bitch still wouldn't budge a muscle. She was so irritatingly loyal to that idiot boyfriend of hers.   
  
He could understand why Medea wanted her out the way. He wondered if Yvette had been having better luck than him. This whole thing was starting to bore him now.  
  
At first he had thought it was cool that they would be working with an assassin as famous and deadly as Medea Blackthorn. Only Medea Blackthorn turned out to be a stuck up, snooty bitch who whined all the time.  
  
He felt sorry for anyone who had to work with her on a permanent basis. During the passing period before the final class of the day he ran into Yvette. "Any luck?" he asked.   
  
Yvette smirked. "I've managed to convince her to meet us both after class. She's supposed to be coming to the disused bike shed, where one of us is going to kill her."  
  
Caphius nodded. "All right." He watched Yvette saunter off into the crowd. He allowed himself a small smirk. He didn't have to wait for Yvette to arrive to kill the stupid little witch.   
  
* * *  
  
Aurielle was slightly suspicious as to why Yvette Darkthorn wanted to meet her. The girl had never so much as said a word to her before.   
  
So what was this whole thing to do with meeting her by the bike shed after class had finished? It sounded rather ominous.   
  
She wondered vaguely if she should mention this to the other Daybreakers. But she was constantly asking them for advice or Dylan for protection.  
  
No.  
  
This time she would go on her own. She was too curious to pass it up.   
  
Shame, really.  
  
* * * 


	4. Part 4

Part 4  
  
By the end of the day Medea was beginning to feel like screaming. She was surrounded by humans, and couldn't kill them without risk of discovery. If she started slaughtering people, then someone would notice something about her wasn't right. She wouldn't complete her task and then Neo would find out and slaughter *her*.  
  
It didn't sound very appealing so she decided she might as well control herself. With any luck, by the end of the day, the whole thing would be taken care of.   
  
Yvette and Caphius were supposed to be dealing with Aurielle for her sometime within the next half an hour. She found Yvette waiting by her locker. "If you tell me something went wrong I'm going to kill you," she snapped.  
  
Yvette laughed, a sound like glass shattering. "Give us some credit," she snorted. "Everything is set up. She's on her way to meet me by the old bike shed right now."  
  
Medea's eyebrow raised, slightly disgusted. "That's a little easy, don't you think?" she asked.  
  
Yvette shrugged. "She's going to be too curious to pass it up. She's rather impressionable and predictable."  
  
Medea's eyes rolled. "Whatever. As long as she's dead, that's all that matters."  
  
Yvette nodded. "Sure." She sauntered off into the crowd of students disappearing out the door.   
  
An idea crossed Medea's mind. Why should they get to have all the fun? She had never really intended to give them any of her money. She headed after Yvette.  
  
* * *  
  
When Aurielle arrived at the bike shed there was no one there. She noticed, uncomfortably that she was rather cut off from the rest of the students. She frowned a little, wondering if it was something she should be worried about.  
  
She tapped her fingers against her books impatiently, waiting for Yvette to show up. The sooner she got there and explained whatever it was she wanted to talk about, the sooner Aurielle could leave.   
  
She could see a figure approaching her from the shadows. Tall with a mane of black hair. Not Yvette. The new girl, Maria. "What are you doing here? I'm waiting for Yvette."  
  
Maria just shrugged, smiling unpleasantly. She grabbed Aurielle's shoulders and pulled her close. Aurielle's books slid from her grasp, papers scattering all over the floor.   
  
"I'll scream," she whispered.  
  
Maria, or whoever she really was, just laughed in her face. "Please do," she said cheerfully.   
  
Aurielle opened her mouth as "Maria's" face began to change, her eyes blazing silver, her canine teeth extending to delicate fangs. A weak cry came from her mouth as she felt her like painfully drained away.  
  
* * *  
  
Niamh was starting to panic. She had looked all over and still hadn't found Aurielle anywhere. No one had seen her since fifth period. The Night People can't have gotten to her already...  
  
Aurielle wouldn't fall for their tricks...or would she? She could be rather dense about some things. She wouldn't figure out what was going on until it was too late.  
  
She didn't seem Dylan coming until she ran into him. Dylan looked at her, frowning. "What happened to you?" he asked.   
  
"Have you seen Aurielle?" she demanded.   
  
Dylan shook his head. "Not since lunch, why?"  
  
Niamh told him, and watched the expression on his face turn from one of horror, to one of hate. She frowned. "What? It's something to do with that new girl, Maria?"  
  
He snorted. "She told *me* her name was Melanie." He thought of the pretty dark haired girl who had been following him the other night. Why hadn't he killed the bitch when he'd had the chance? "If she's really Medea Blackthorn..." He trailed off.  
  
"Hey, you guys want to go get a coffee at the mall or something?" Katia said, appearing beside Niamh.   
  
"Have you seen Aurielle?" Dylan demanded.  
  
Katia nodded. "She said she had to meet Yvette about something by the bike shed then she'd meet us later."  
  
Dylan was already running off. Katia frowned. "What's going on?"  
  
"We'll tell you later," Niamh said, taking off herself. She knew there were already going to be too late by the time they arrived at the bike shed.   
  
And they were.   
  
When she got there, Dylan was kneeling on the ground by Aurielle, who was staring up at them, eyes wide with terror. Dylan's face was a blank mask to hide his emotions.  
  
"She's..." Niamh couldn't bring herself to say the word "dead".  
  
Dylan nodded. "They'll pay for this," he vowed. "They'll pay."  
  
* * * 


	5. Part 5

Author's Notes: I know the first part of this chapter is exactly the same as chapter 1, but there are some new parts added on where chapter one cuts off.   
  
  
Part 5  
  
How had he gotten here? Dylan sighed, standing alone on the roof of the gym. What possible good was going to come of this, anyway? She hadn't shown up yet, he would have thought the better of her.   
  
The night was clear and eerily calm. Dylan paced about, bored now, and wanting to go home. But the sooner she got here, the sooner they could get this over and done with.   
  
It wasn't like any of this had been his fault. He'd just been a normal person - or as normal as a Night Person could get - up until *she* had shown up and created her problems.   
  
"Come on, Medea," he muttered. "I've got better things to be doing."  
  
"Somehow, I seriously doubt it."  
  
The voice caught him off balance. He didn't like her sudden closeness, how she'd just appeared silently out of the darkness and shadows.  
  
Medea just gave him a stunning smile. She may be stunning, but she was scum underneath it all. "Hey, don't hate me," she said casually. "I'm just doing my job."  
  
Dylan stared at her, and shook her head. God, she was impossible. She was the last person he would want anything to do with. "You killed her." His tone was blunt, full of hatred.  
  
Medea just smiled that irritating smile of hers, inspecting long sharp blood-red nails. "I did, didn't I?"  
  
"Why didn't you just come straight after me? That was what you were supposed to be doing."  
  
Medea laughed. The sound was harsh and chilling, shattering the peaceful night calm. Dylan held his ground, refusing to back up or shudder. She didn't intimidate him.   
  
"Well, I would have just gone straight for you, only there was someone in my way, so I dealt with the problem." She said it so casually, as if it was just part of her every day life, going around killing people.   
  
Unfortunately for him, in Medea's case, that was just what she did. Went around killing people and enjoying it. So he hadn't taken her down, because he'd mistaken her for someone else, he hadn't believed it was really her.  
  
Well, bravo. All that had done was resulted in the death of someone close to him. And lead him here. Alone, a deserted roof top, face to face with one of the supposed most deadly women he'd ever met.   
  
Medea brushed some imaginary dirt off her hands. "I'm bored now," she said, eyeing him with distaste. "Let's do this and get it over with."  
  
"Fine with me."  
  
He stood where he was, watching her, waiting for her to make the first move. She was looking at him, watching like a hawk, as he mirrored her movements.   
  
Dylan was getting annoyed. ~Oh the hell with this,~ he thought angrily, and threw himself at her.  
  
* * *  
  
Medea sighed heavily. Dylan was so...predictable. She shook her head, sidestepping as he rushed her. She smirked at him with contempt. "Come on Dylan," she sneered at him. "You're supposed to be good."  
  
Dylan stopped, glaring at her. "This is all your fault, you know."  
  
Medea laughed, her cold laughter echoing in the night air. "My fault? Hey, I'm just doing my job, it's not my fault if you can't deal with it. You shouldn't be such a little asshole, should you?"  
  
Dylan launched himself at her a second time. Instead of sidestepping, Medea took him head on. He threw a series of angry punches at her. Medea countered his every move, fast and furious as he was. The effect became more a fight than a dance. Somewhere overhead a loud clap of thunder boomed. Rain began to pour. Lighting began to flash. Medea shook her head, disgusted.  
  
How pathetically cliché.   
  
Dylan stuck his foot out at an unexpected moment tripping her. Medea cursed. She hated being distracted. While she fumbled to get up, something flashed in the moonlight.  
  
She rolled out the way of the wooden stake quickly. She pulled up short, dangerously close to the edge of the building. She found herself almost hanging off the edge, two stories down. It might not kill her, but it would break her bones, and even if she would heal up in a remarkably short space of time, falling off a building was not her idea of a good time.   
  
Dylan was smirking. "Looks like you're loosing."  
  
"I don't lose," Medea growled out. She smirked at him, and kicked him hard in the groin, knowing her heeled boot would do some damage.  
  
Dylan cried out and fell to the floor, clutching himself, shouting curses at her. It gave Medea the time she needed to get to her feet.  
  
"Come on," she taunted him. "Get up and let's finish this."  
  
Dylan was on his feet in an instant. With a snarl of rage and anger he threw himself at her. Medea stepped backwards to get out his way. Her foot missed the edge of the building. She screamed before toppling backwards. Before she knew what was happening Dylan had grabbed her hand. Stopping her.  
  
He was saving her, why?  
  
Medea wasn't focusing her attention on that. The simple touch had blown her mind away. In that instant, everything changed forever.  
  
* * *  
Shock coursed through Medea's body as Dylan hands closed around hers. What the hell...This wasn't supposed to be happening! Silver sparks were shooting all around her, mixing in with pink, like some sort of fairy dance.  
  
Dylan hauled her back onto the roof of the gym, looking as shocked and startled as she was. He grabbed her shoulders, pulled her close and kissed her. Medea was too stunned to even resist him.  
  
The silver sparks around them flared to a brilliant white light, opening something inside their minds. A channel of some sort, changing her views of him entirely.   
  
Although why, she wasn't exactly sure. Hadn't she been sent here to kill him? The orders from Neo seemed vague and unimportant now. She could see him as a person, someone with real thoughts and feelings rather than just another jackass once dead to increase her bank account by a large sum of money,  
  
~Dear God, what's happening to me?~ she thought, wondering if she was starting to turn delusional.   
  
~You think you've got problems~ Dylan muttered, just as annoyed with this whole thing as she was. She realised he didn't know what he was doing anymore than she did. He was supposed to hate her, she had just killed his girlfriend after all.   
  
So what had gone wrong? He'd had the chance to kill her. If she'd fallen off the building roof she might have smashed her head on the concrete floor, she wasn't sure even vampire regenerative ability could close an injury like that.   
  
Only he'd pulled her back, and now here they were, and he was ravaging her instead of killing her. Not that she was actually complaining...  
  
"This can't...oh shit." As soon as Dylan spoke out loud, the bright white light faded to what looked like a silver line, wrapping around them.   
  
Medea eyed him. "What?" Then horror struck her. Still connected to him, she could read his thoughts loud and clear. How could she have been so stupid not to realise?   
  
"Soulmates," Dylan said flatly. "What else could it be?"  
  
Medea shoved him off her and ran. She needed to get as far away from him as possible. She climbed down the drain pipe and away from the school grounds. How could she go back now? The other Night People would guess in a second.  
  
And Neo...what the hell would *he* do to her if he found out? Half the time he drove her nuts, but in her own strange way, she supposed she loved him.   
  
Great, she thought moodily. Just great. How could things get any worse?  
* * *  
  
Dylan walked home in silence. Why hadn't he guessed? He should have known from the minute that he'd first seen Medea that something like this should happen.  
  
Wasn't that how the soulmate connection was working at the moment? Putting the assassin with the target, the vampire with the vampire hunter. The same thing really, just a slight change to the story.   
  
And now it had happened to him. But why Medea? She already had a boyfriend. He already had a girlfriend. Or, had, anyway, he thought with a narrowing of the eyes.  
  
Aurielle was dead. Medea had killed her. That didn't mean that he was automatically going to forgive her, they would fall in love and waltz happily off to Circle Daybreak and live happily ever after.   
  
Niamh was waiting for him back at his house. "Something went wrong," she said, the minute she saw him. "It's written all over your face."  
  
Dylan sighed and dropped on the couch. He almost wished the floor would open in front of him and swallow him whole, then he wouldn't have to think about anything that was happening anymore.   
  
"Medea and I are soulmates," he said. "I was kicking the crap out of her, something sparked, and...well..." he shrugged. "She freaked and got away."  
  
Nimah's eyebrow was arched. "So she's still on the loose. And freaking."  
  
Dylan nodded. Maybe this would just make her kill him more quickly, just to get this soulmate thing out the way. It was totally unfair, really. Why didn't it ever connect two people who were already in love, rather than throwing two complete strangers together?  
  
Unless that was all something to do with the Old Powers Rising stuff that was tied in with the so-called end-of-the-world prophecies that had been discovered.   
  
He didn't know, and wasn't in the mood for philosophy.   
  
"You have no idea what to do about it," Niamh said. "And if you say kill her before she kills you, something else is going to go wrong."  
  
"You're a lot of help," Dylan snorted in contempt. But as much as he hated to admit it, Niamh was exactly right. Which didn't help, just made things worse.  
  
* * * 


	6. Part 6

Part 6  
  
Dylan walked home in silence. Why hadn't he guessed? He should have known from the minute that he'd first seen Medea that something like this should happen.  
  
Wasn't that how the soulmate connection was working at the moment? Putting the assassin with the target, the vampire with the vampire hunter. The same thing really, just a slight change to the story.   
  
And now it had happened to him. But why Medea? She already had a boyfriend. He already had a girlfriend. Or, had, anyway, he thought with a narrowing of the eyes.  
  
Aurielle was dead. Medea had killed her. That didn't mean that he was automatically going to forgive her, they would fall in love and waltz happily off to Circle Daybreak and live happily ever after.   
  
Niamh was waiting for him back at his house. "Something went wrong," she said, the minute she saw him. "It's written all over your face."  
  
Dylan sighed and dropped on the couch. He almost wished the floor would open in front of him and swallow him whole, then he wouldn't have to think about anything that was happening anymore.   
  
"Medea and I are soulmates," he said. "I was kicking the crap out of her, something sparked, and...well..." he shrugged. "She freaked and got away."  
  
Nimah's eyebrow was arched. "So she's still on the loose. And freaking."  
  
Dylan nodded. Maybe this would just make her kill him more quickly, just to get this soulmate thing out the way. It was totally unfair, really. Why didn't it ever connect two people who were already in love, rather than throwing two complete strangers together?  
  
Unless that was all something to do with the Old Powers Rising stuff that was tied in with the so-called end-of-the-world prophecies that had been discovered.   
  
He didn't know, and wasn't in the mood for philosophy.   
  
"You have no idea what to do about it," Niamh said. "And if you say kill her before she kills you, something else is going to go wrong."  
  
"You're a lot of help," Dylan snorted in contempt. But as much as he hated to admit it, Niamh was exactly right. Which didn't help, just made things worse.  
  
* * *  
  
The shower hadn't helped clear her head much. Medea wrapped herself in a thick black velvet robe, and sat in her leather recliner. Her wet hair hung loose down her back. Her skin was still tingling with after-shock from the effect of the discovery of the soulmate connection.  
  
"How's it going?" Neo came into the room without knocking as usual. Normally it didn't bother Medea, but considering her frazzled state of mind, Neo Redwood was the last person she wanted to deal with.   
  
"It's taking a little longer than I thought." It had barely been a day yet. Normally her assignments were all done within 24 hours.   
  
Neo was eyeing her, slightly suspicious. Medea dreaded to think what he would do with her if he ever found out the truth. "Is there a problem?" he asked, his arms folded across his muscular chest. "You seem...worried about something."  
  
Medea smoothed out her expression, hoping she looked blank and careless. "There's no problem. He'll be dead before the end of the week."  
  
Neo nodded. "Just make sure." He left the room, shutting the door behind her.  
  
Medea fell on the large four poster bed, burying her face in mounds of red pillows. What the hell was she going to do?  
  
* * *  
  
She thought she could fool him, but Neo knew Medea well enough to know when she was so blatantly lying. He paced around his quarters, trying to decide what to do about her.   
  
He knew it was something to do with this latest assignment he'd sent her on. Dylan Redfern. One of these stupid idiotic vampires who had turned their back on the Family's power.  
  
The boy belonged to one of the most powerful vampire families in the entire Night World. The Redferns were vampiric royalty. He just didn't understand how anyone could turn their back on such power. It completely baffled him.  
  
They needed to be wiped out. He would have thought that Medea was perfectly competent enough to take care of the idiot boy. She was the best assassin he could get to take on any sort of job for him.   
  
If she had lived up to her reputation, he would be dead by now. He supposed it had only been one day. But something had happened. Something had happened that had thrown her off and shocked her.  
  
"You wanted to see me?"  
  
He had called his contact at the local high school, Yvette. Maybe she could shed some light on this little problem. The sooner it could be dealt with the better.  
  
"Yes, I want a full progress report on how Medea is dealing with killing Dylan Redfern." He sat down in a large leather arm chair.   
  
Yvette shrugged. "I don't know how she's getting on with killing him. She killed his girlfriend this afternoon. The idea was supposed to piss him off and lead him to her so she could get him."  
  
"Have you tried talking to her?" He would have thought it more likely that Medea would confide in one of her female friends about something like this rather than just come to him.  
  
Yvette shrugged again, folding her arms. "She wouldn't talk. She just snapped when I asked her what had happened. It sounds to be like..." She trailed off.  
  
Neo frowned. His eyes rolled in disgust. Just fucking great, he thought moodily. It sounded like someone had been hit with a soulmate connection. Damn thing always seemed to be getting in the way these days.  
  
"You can go away now."  
  
Yvette remained where she was for a few minutes, staring at him, then she shook her head and walked away, closing the office doors behind her. Neo sat there in his chair, tapping his foot on the floor.  
  
He'd always known there was the possibility that this might happen. He was more relieved it had happened to Medea than to him, to be honest. But it didn't really matter that much.  
  
He already had a plan.  
  
* * * 


	7. Part 7

Part 7  
  
Medea didn't want to go to school the following morning. She would have to face Dylan and the Daybreakers. (God, it sounded like corny 60s Hippie band).   
  
She debated on packing her things and just running. She had been with Neo ever since she'd been made into a vampire all those hundreds of years ago, she had never really had a chance to explore the world on her own.   
  
She and Dylan weren't one of those mushy couples who couldn't bear to be apart, hell, they could barely stand the sight of each other. She dragged herself out of bed, wondering if she *did* run, how she was going to get past Neo.  
  
She was one of his favourite assassins, he wasn't likely to let her go so easily. He would hunt her down until he found her. Even if she changed her name, she'd still look the same and someone was likely to recognise her.  
  
She could leave the country. Hide out somewhere in Europe, or somewhere like Tahiti. Surely no one would even think to look for her there.  
  
But then again, Neo knew she had a taste for the exotic...Oh God, this was so hard! Was this Karma's way of coming back to kick her in the ass for all the bad things she had done in her life? It certainly seemed like it.  
  
Then again, she knew that she utterly despised the idea of being soulmates with Dylan, but wasn't sure how he felt about being with *her*.  
  
After what she'd done to Aurielle, his stupid girlfriend, she would have assumed he would hate her guts. But what if this damn soulmate thing had made him look at her in an entirely new light, see that she was a person, just doing her job, or whatever else would come to mind.   
  
He was a Damned Daybreaker after all. He was supposed to want to see the better side of people. She stood in front of her mirror. There were bags under her eyes, her skin was pale and drawn, her normally shining dark hair lank and dull.  
  
She wasn't herself at all. Killing him wasn't going to solve the problem. Even if he was dead, she knew with an unpleasant feeling that she would still think of him.  
  
Wasn't that the whole point of soulmates? No matter how wrong the person might be for you, you knew you would never be the same without them.  
  
Maybe she could kill *herself*. She smiled bleakly at the thought. Then she wouldn't have to worry about anything at all. But why should she throw her life away because of some stupid lighty thing?  
  
Someone was knocking insistently on her door. Medea scowled moodily, really not wanting to deal with people right now. But it became clear whoever it was wasn't going to go away.  
  
She answered, frowning at Caphius. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.  
  
He made "come here" motions with his fingers. "There's something I need to show you." He didn't sound too pleased.  
  
Medea eyed him, then sighed heavily. She left her room, shutting the door behind her and followed Caphius slightly down the hall. She frowned as he stopped, opening another door near by. "What?"  
  
"In there," he said.  
  
Medea shook her head in disgust heading into the room. She didn't see the baseball bat that came swinging at her until it knocked her out.  
  
* * *  
  
Dylan decided he would try talking to Medea about this soulmate thingie. It kind of made more sense to try and deal with it rationally than just jump to stupid conclusions and do stupid things.  
  
He wondered if she'd already skipped town. She hadn't been in any of her classes today. He hadn't really expected her to show up. As much as he hated to admit it, there was a small droplet of worry somewhere deep inside him.  
  
If she was still going to be uncooperative and shout and scream and take it like a little kid, then he would have no choice but to say the hell rationalism, and kill her.   
  
She, after all, had been hired to kill him. So why hadn't she come and done it? He didn't know, and wasn't sure if he wanted to. At least he was alive and that was what mattered, right?  
  
He had asked Niamh to find out where Medea/Maria lived. Niamh had broken into the school's computer system and found an address. Whether it was her real address Dylan didn't know.  
  
He headed over there after school, anyway. He hadn't asked Niamh to go with him, but wouldn't be surprised if she was following him at a distance.  
  
The minute he arrived at Medea's house he knew instinctively that something was wrong. She wasn't going to be there. He found a back way in and broke the door handle without any trouble, and headed inside, calling out for her with his mind.   
  
~Medea? Medea where are you? Answer me!~  
  
She didn't answer him. There was no sign of any sort of struggle in her room to show she had been taken, but he had the feeling whoever did it had tricked her and knocked her out, or done it with magic.  
  
She wouldn't have given into being kidnapped so easily. When they had been fighting she had certainly known how to kick a little vampire ass.  
  
He hurried back downstairs to see he had been right. Niamh was poking her head around the door, doing a not-so-good-job of being subtle about it.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he hissed, grabbing her wrist and pulling her closer.  
  
Niamh glared and yanked her arm free. "What the hell do you think? Following you! I knew something was going to go wrong and you'd go jump in at the wrong end."  
  
Dylan's eyes narrowed. Medea was a particularly vicious Night World assassin, what would make Niamh follow him to want to help her? Unless she had a different agenda in mind. "What are you up to?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing!" she snapped. "In case you've forgotten, I'm a Daybreaker, and that's what we do! We *help* people. And even people like Medea can change!"  
  
Dylan even found himself smiling a little. Typical Daybreak attitude. He should have known better. They spent the next half an hour sneaking around the large house, searching for some sort of clue as to who had taken Medea.  
  
Dylan wondered why they were able to sneak around so easily. Even if the person who lived here was out, then wouldn't he have servants or guards around? Or because he had big-shot assassin Medea working for him he believed he was safe?  
  
"This is Neo Redwood's house," Niamh said in a soft voice, pouring through some papers on the desk.  
  
"Great. So we've got a Night World ring leader to look for," Dylan said sourly. "Any idea *where*?"  
  
"Maybe," Niamh said with a little smile. "He's not very bright. According to some of these he's hired a limo to take him to this address." She waved a piece of paper in front of Dylan.  
  
Dylan took it, frowning, knowing that was where this bastard had taken Medea to torture her. "Okay, so we know where we're going." He looked up. "What's the catch?"  
  
Niamh shrugged. "I guess we'll see when we get there."  
  
* * * 


	8. Part 8

Part 8  
  
Medea should have known. She had never liked Caphius much. She had been on edge and in a bad mood since the other day, so she should have guessed he was planning something.  
  
And now here she was. Tied up and helpless. The room she was in was completely bare, except for the large wooden chair she was chained to.  
  
Like so many of her victims before her, she was going to wind up suffering the same fate as them. She generally didn't torture them for fun, not unless she needed something from them and they weren't talking.  
  
Neo, on the other hand, liked to play torture games. He had to either get her exceptionally drunk or drug her before she agreed to participate. She dreaded to think what he had in mind.  
  
She stiffened when she heard the keys turn in the lock. She wasn't going to beg for forgiveness, plead and scream for him to let her go. No. She'd show him she had some back-bone.  
  
"It's a shame, really," Neo said, walking in. To Medea's surprise Yvette was hovering in the door behind him.   
  
"What the hell's *she* doing here?" she demanded, annoyed. She hadn't really liked Yvette that much either. Was Yvette still pissed because Medea had killed Aurielle when she wanted to?  
  
Yvette smiled a little. "He said I could watch."  
  
"Oh." Medea sighed. Had Yvette been spying on her all along, reporting to Neo on the soulmate thing? Too bad she and Yvette couldn't switch places right now.  
  
"What did I do wrong?" Medea asked, deliberately stalling. The longer she could avoid any sort of physical pain the better. At least for her, anyway.  
  
"For starters, you didn't complete your assignment like I asked. And second, you discovered a soulmate connection with the asshole. And you lied to me. Did I miss anything?" Neo glowered at her, walking closer, toying with the wooden knife he held in his hand.  
  
Medea opened her mouth to say just because she'd discovered a soulmate connection with Dylan, it didn't mean she loved him. Then she didn't. From what she knew, he was a Daybreaker, wasn't he?  
  
If he was a Daybreaker, and lived up to their reputation, then he would be coming to attempt to save her sometime soon, and hopefully with backup. She looked at the floor, instead.  
  
Neo drew the knife down her cheek. She gritted her teeth at the sharp burst of pain that soared through her head, refusing to scream. She wasn't scared of him. He wasn't going to humiliate her like that.  
  
"Didn't think so," he said with a faint smile, clearly enjoying the look of hatred in her eyes. "Too bad for you. Fun for me."  
  
* * *  
Dylan eyed the mansion, wondering why all the Night People he seemed to have to kill always lived in big dark mansions. Weren't they a little out of style now? If he had the money it must cost to run a place like this, he'd at least get something for his money instead of what looked to him like a crumbling mausoleum.   
  
"Any ideas on how to get in?" Niamh whispered from beside him as they crept closer, using a row of bushes as cover.  
  
Dylan looked around. There were at least two guards in front of the front door. Shapeshifters from the way they moved, probably werewolves. Getting past them wasn't going to be easy. Werewolves often tended to be a lot smarter than people seemed to give them credit for.  
  
"You go distract them," he told Niamh, "and I'll sneak in."  
  
"And if they kill me?" Niamh asked in quiet outrage.   
  
Dylan looked over at the guards, then at her. He'd never actually seen what she was like fighting before. He couldn't think of another plan. There were likely to be guards at the back door too.  
  
"You can handle it," he told her, hoping he sounded reassuring.  
  
Niamh glared at him and stood up, walking casually over to the guards, who glared at her furiously. While she struck up a flirtatious conversation, Dylan slipped quickly at vampire speed past them and opened the door, wondering what to do next.  
  
If he was going to torture someone, where would he do it? The basement seemed like a pretty obvious choice, or the attic, maybe.  
  
~Where the hell are you? If you were any sort of Daybreaker, you'd be on your way to rescue me!~  
  
It was Medea's voice inside his mind. He almost felt like leaving her to suffer. (God, what a bitch.) No matter how many times he said it, he knew he wasn't going to abandon her.  
  
~Where are you?~ Telepathy was starting to be his favourite thing about being a vampire. At times like this it could really come in handy.  
  
~Somewhere on the second floor.~  
  
Dylan headed up the stairs, keeping close to the shadows. Handy since there were hardly any lights on in the place. Again and again he got the uneasy impression that this was too easy.  
  
How come they were just *letting* him get up to the second floor like this? He frowned, creeping along the dark corridor. He spotted a figure leaning in a doorway.  
  
He took his stake out, crept up behind her and slammed it into her back. She turned around in shock, before passing out. He pushed the dead corpse aside and pulled out his stake.  
  
  
Medea was tied to a tall chair in the centre of the otherwise bare room, covered in blood. Some tall guy beside her was looking very pleased with himself.  
  
Medea's eyebrow raised when she saw him. "You took your time."  
  
The guy, who must be Neo Redwood, turned around. "Oh joy." Calvary's arrived." He moved away from Medea and started stalking towards Dylan. "What are you waiting for?"  
  
Dylan launched himself forward, about to kick the guy's ass...when a great flash of something blue lit the air. Within the next few seconds, it was gone. The vampire was gone. Medea wasn't injured anymore, she was free.  
  
* * *  
  
Dylan turned in annoyance to find himself facing Niamh, and four other girls he'd never seen before in his life. One was tall with long black hair, the girl next to her had minx coloured hair, and the one beside them was small with a cloud of curly orange hair. The girl who stood in front of them was the prettiest, small boned, with pale blonde hair and violet eyes, and a very smug grin on her face.  
  
"Say hello to Keller, Nissa and Winnie," Niamh said proudly. "And Iliana Harman, the Wild Power who just saved you. I figured something like this would happen so I called for some backup."  
  
"I could have taken him," Dylan snorted. "All that for..." He trailed off, shaking his head. He would have liked a final battle with the Night World villain, only these girls had spoiled it for him.  
  
"You Wild Power people seem to be doing this a lot lately, don't you?" Medea said dryly. "I've known a few other Night World leaders who have been in the same situation, about to kill their hostage when you guys show up and help out the soulmate who's trying to save them." She shook her own head.  
  
"Have to stick to the tradition," Niamh said, smiling, and equally pleased with herself.  
  
"Whatever happened to thanks for rescuing us?" Iliana said with a pout.  
  
"Thanks," Dylan said, his tone still sour. He glanced over at Medea. Now this is the part where you say..."  
  
Medea glared. "I know, I know, the 'why do I have to end up a damned Daybreaker thing'." Her eyes rolled. "Let's just skip it, okay?"  
  
He looked at her for several minutes longer. He seriously doubted that she would end up going back to her old way of life. If she did...  
  
"All right, already!" she snapped, moving to stand beside him.   
  
He found himself smiling as he took her hand. "We're probably going to drive each other nuts."  
  
Her lip curled a little. "Probably."  
"So, we're all going back to headquarters?" the orange haired girl, Winnie asked.  
  
Their cheerfulness was already starting to irritate Dylan. He wasn't sure how much he could stand of it. "I guess." He and Medea followed them out the door.  
  
"Even I have to admit," Medea said as they all got into a large white limo and sped off, "I guess I would like to actually meet some of the other people this has happened to. See how they've wound up."  
  
Dylan nodded in agreement. It wasn't a perfectly happy ending, they weren't waltzing off, singing happily and madly in love with each other now they could accept one another.  
  
"That'd make us both sick," Medea whispered.  
  
Dylan snorted, trying not to laugh himself at the image of them as hippies doing just that. She had a point. They had more in common than he'd thought. He knew Circle Daybreak had more to offer than signing about love and harmony between the two sides. He and Medea should be okay. Should be.  
  
And even if it wasn't a perfectly happy ending, as far as he was concerned, it was a satisfying one.  
  
THE END. 


End file.
